Note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments.



No. 788,854. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

E. F. SMITH.

NOTE SHEET FOR SELF PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED DBCLSO, 1903.

Wzitnessasx v venf I, W l fl I I UNITED STATES Patented May 52, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN F. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,854, dated May 2, 1905.

Application filed December 30, 1903- Serial No. 187,237.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of the Bronx, in the city of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in N ote-Sheets for Self-Playing Musical Instruments, of which the following is aspecification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to note-sheets for selfplaying musical instruments, and has for its principal object the production of a blank note-sheet adapted to be readily provided with playing or note-sounding perforations without the employment of any mechanical appliances to properly locate the perforations thereon, so that the user may prepare his own note-sheets.

According to my invention the note-sheet is marked with a series of longitudinal notespaces corresponding to the different notes which the instrument is capable of sounding and so located that perforations placed therein will sound the corresponding notes on the instrument. According to my invention a series of time-indicators is marked upon the sheet so combined with the note-spaces as to enable the person preparing the note-sheet to determine the proper longitudinal position of the perforations, and according to my invention note-symbols are provided repeated at intervals along the length of such note-spaces to designate the notes which will be sounded by perforations in the respective note-spaces.

I will now describe the blank note-sheet embodying my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing and will thereafter point out my invention in claims.

The drawing represents part of a blank notesheet 1, which would be, as usual, in the form of a strip of considerable length. This notesheet is provided with a series of wide paralspaces thus provided will depend upon the capacity of the musical instrument or the desired limitations of the note-blank. The drawing shows a note-sheet with twenty-four notespaces, including the full and half notes from lower A to G-sharp of the second octave above it, and therefore shows only a part of the full width of a note-sheet for any ordinary keyboard. The corresponding note-symbols for the different note-spaces are marked in these spaces, and these markings are repeated at intervals along such spaces, as shown, to guide the person preparing or perforating the sheet,

the symbols shown being the full-letter symbols of the several notes, with both the flats and the sharps. To guide the perforator in the longitudinal arrangement or timing of the perforations, transverse lines 4:, crossing the note-spaces, are also marked upon the notesheet. These transverse lines may correspond with measures or fractions of a measure, as may be desired. The perforation of the sheets is most readily accomplished by the employment of punches of different sizes for the different lengths of the notes. The note-spaces determine exactly the transverse positions of the perforations, and the transverse time-indicating lines effectively guide the timing or longitudinal positions. The frequent recurrence of the note-symbols greatly facilitates the location of the notes and repeatedly corrects any tendency to error. Thus the sheets may be rapidly prepared without other mechanical appliances than a ham mer and punches and with full opportunity for individualizing the rendition of the several compositions. The work of preparing note-sheets from the blanks embodying this invention is not only light and pleasant, but has a substantial educational value. 1

It is obvious that modifications may be made in the construction shown and above particularly described within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A blank note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments having a series of longitudinal lines thereon with longitudinal notespaces between them, these note-spaces being arranged transversely in correspondence with and spaced the same as the tracker-board perforations and being of the approximate width of the full-width note-sounding perforations for such tracker-board, and the sheet having note indicating characters arranged transversely thereon.

2. A blank note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments having a series of longitudinal lines thereon with longitudinal notespaces between them, these note-spaces being arranged transversely in correspondence with and spaced the same as the tracker-board perforations and being of the approximate width of the full-width note-sounding perforations for such tracker-board, and the sheet having note indicating characters arranged transversely thereon and a series of time-indicating marks combined with the note-spaces.

3. A note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments having a series of longitudinal notespaces marked thereon and note-symbols re peated at intervals longitudinally along such spaces and designating the notes to which the spaces correspond.

4. A blank note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments having a series of longitudinal rulings with note-spaces between them, and note-symbols repeated at intervals longitudinally in such spaces and designating the notes to which the spaces correspond, substantially as set forth.

5. A note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments having a series of longitudinal notespaces marked thereon, a series of time-indicating marks combined with the note-spaces, and note-symbols repeated at intervals longitudinally along such spaces and designating the notes to which the spaces correspond.

6. A blank note-sheet for self-playing musical instruments having a series of longitudinal rulings with note-spaces between them, a series of time-indicating transverse lines crossing such note-spaces, and note-symbols repeated at intervals longitudinally in such note-spaces and designating the notes to which the spaces correspond, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDVIN F. SMITH.

\Vitnesses:

THOMAS L. TOMLINES, HENRY D. \VILLIAMs. 

